The Hag Of Cokeworth
by BlueHot Chronicles
Summary: This story is on hold for the foreseeable future. I WILL return. Petunia Evans loved her baby sister and was ecstatic with the addition of a new family member. But strange things began happening, and Petunia began to fear the things Lily could do, and had already done. AU.
1. Prologue

**The Hag Of Cokeworth**

 **Harry Potter/Charmed Crossover**

By BlueHot Chronicles

 _Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of BlueHot Chronicles. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended._

 **Author's Note:**

I began writing this story at the end of 2016. I paused to write Strange Beginnings (a companion piece to this story) and Essence Of Infinity (and a few other stories). There are French words used throughout the story and I used IM Translator, Instant Translator and Google Translate. Misunderstandings of French grammar and so forth in this story are my own. This is going to be a WIP for a long time.

 **Summary:**

Petunia Evans loved her baby sister and was ecstatic with the addition of a new family member. But strange things began happening, and Petunia began to fear the things Lily could do, and had already done. Would anyone believe her or even protect her? Can anyone save her? Would anyone want to... after being a hateful shrew for years? AU.

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 **Prologue**

 _Miller's Row, Cokeworth_

"Uncle Qal! We weren't expecting you, come in." Henry Evans stepped back, allowing the older and well-polished gentleman to enter his home before embracing him warmly.

"Well, _Henri_ , when you told me Heather gave birth, I decided to visit and see _ton petit ange_ before my trip to the Americas."

"She is a little angel," Henry said, his smile wide as he led his uncle to the living room, then his smile turned playful, "she's asleep at the moment, though, Heather as well so I hope my company's good enough for you until they wake."

"Of course, _Henri_ ," he said, with a mock wounded look, "you are, after all, my favourite nephew."

"I'm your _only_ nephew, Uncle. Would you like a drink? I still have one more bottle of that Superior thing you like."

" _Je te remercie_ , that would be most welcome." Qalmor chuckled as he accepted a glass of his favourite red wine, and relaxed on the sofa. The Evans didn't drink the wine themselves unless he was there, and kept it only for his visits. "I have a meeting with my affiliate before I leave, I'll acquire a few to augment your supplies."

"That's alright, Uncle, it's only one bottle. I'm sure I'll find it in the supermarket."

"Oh, you would not find this just anywhere, _Henri_. As my associate would say, only the elite can get their hands on one of these; I must admit, I take delight in informing him of what I do with it." His laugh was almost euphoric.

"It's not illegal or dangerous to get is it, Uncle? I'd feel terrible if your associate was to snub you."

"Don't worry about such things, nephew. Abraxas knows better than to try to renege on the deal his ancestor made with m-mine."

His uncle smiled but it was cold, Henry felt a shudder go down his spine; he always forgot how frightening his Uncle Qalmor could appear sometimes.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"Think nothing of it, _Henri_."

"That's the baby," the mewling cries made the new father's heart clench with an intense rush of love, "come, Uncle, I'll take you to the guest room, Heather should be down in an hour or so."

An hour later, after freshening up and taking a nap, Uncle Qal was holding his niece.

" _Bonjour mon bijou_ ," Qalmor allowed a smile to soften his features when little Petunia yawned while gazing up at him, and he whispered to her, "you are the one I've been waiting for, and at last _vous êtes venue, L'émeraude_ _Fey_."

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 **A/N -** _ **L'émeraude**_ **Fey - The Emerald Fey**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

It was so small and squishy looking, and all pink from crying.

The little girl smiled. They taught one colour in school every day and yesterday had been pink.

"Say hello to your baby sister, honey."

"Hi, bibi."

Henry and Heather Evans smiled at the innocence of their two-year-old daughter .

Sitting on the lap of her daddy, she waved her tiny hand at the baby sleeping in mummy's arms.

"Her name's Lily, sweetheart, Lily Sapphire Evans," her daddy said.

"Hi, Yiyi," she leant over, while her daddy kept her safe, and gently pat the blanket wrapped bundle.

"Good girl, Petunia," mummy said, as she reached out to caress her older daughter's silky, strawberry-blonde tresses, "you're a great big sister aren't you."

"Yeah," a smile lit her face at mummy and Daddy's chuckles.

The baby made a cooing sound and Petunia leant closer as she stared at the tiny face curiously before kissing the chubby cheeks. She giggled as baby Lily's face twitched and she kissed her again.

"Wuv you, Yiyi."

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 _ **One Year Later**_

"Come here, Lily, come on."

Petunia looked up from her tea party to witness her baby sister walking for the first time.

"Yay, Lily!" she put down her cup and clapped along with her mother.

There was the sound of a car pulling into the driveway and Petunia was racing toward her father as soon as he stepped through the door.

"Daddy, daddy! Lily walks!"

"Did she, little angel?" he asked excitedly as he lifted Petunia, swinging her around.

"About two minutes ago," Mrs Evans said over Petunia's shrieks and giggles.

"Aww, I just missed it," he said as he gently placed a still giggling Petunia to stand.

"Daddy," Petunia's said, holding onto her daddy's leg to keep from falling over, "Lily go again."

Baby Lily bounced on Mrs Evans lap, her bright brown eyes glistening happily as she shook about the teddy Petunia had given her as a reward. Her daddy tousled Lily's hair which was red like her mummy's.

Mr Evans sat in front of his wife who still held Lily, and Petunia sat on the floor next to him.

"Come here, Lily, come to daddy," he said, his arm opened toward the happily bouncing toddler.

"We should have gotten the camera, Henry," Mrs Evans said, holding Lily in place, facing her daddy.

"I get it," Petunia stood and ran toward the bedrooms.

"Don't run, honey and it's in the bottom drawer so no climbing either!"

"Ok, mummy."

In her parents' bedroom it took her awhile before she could get the drawer open and when she finally did, it was to find that the was camera missing. She could hear her parents cheering Lily on and searched the back of the drawer and under the pile of papers, wanting Lily to have pictures just like hers.

Disappointed that she didn't find the camera, she closed the drawer and heard a rattling sound above her. She looked up to see the camera at the edge of the dresser.

It was too high for her to reach and she thought of calling her daddy to get it but didn't want him to miss out on Lily walking. Sliding the drawer out again and the one above it, just slightly, she grabbed the handle of the drawer above her and began her climb.

She stretched her little arm to reach the camera, but she still needed to go higher. Looking down in front of her, she saw the handle of the next drawer and stepped on it with one foot, her toes just holding. Looking back up at the top of the dresser, she frowned, where was the camera? Then her foot slipped.

Arms were there to suddenly lift her away from the dresser and she was placed to stand in front of her mother.

"Petunia Esmeralda Evans!"

Petunia looked up at her mummy, her green eyes watering and her heart still racing after almost falling and being picked up without warning.

"I told you not to climb! You could have fallen - you almost fell! You could have hurt yourself!"

"Heather, it's my fault," Mr Evans said, holding Lily who was still swinging the teddy about, "I should have gotten it myself."

"That's not the point, Henry. I've told her over and over not to climb and she won't listen."

"No, mummy, it was up thew."

Mrs Evans went to the bottom drawer, closing the one above it; Petunia's little brow furrowed in confusion, there in the bottom drawer and at the top of the stack of papers, was the camera.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Petunia, when are you going to learn to do as I say," Mrs Evans said, ignoring her husband's sigh of frustration.

"She's only three, Heather."

"You won't listen and now you're lying. As I promised the last time you disobeyed me, you get a timeout, " Mrs Evans held her daughter's hand and took her into the room she shared with her sister, over to the space between the wall and Petunia's bed, "you will stand in this corner until I tell you to move."

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

Emerald green eyes, surrounded by wet lashes stared sadly at the yellow wall; a strand of strawberry blonde hair tickled her nose and a small fist pushed it away. She'd only been standing against the wall for a minute or two, but to a small child like her, it felt like forever and ever.

She'd been listening to Lily's baby-hums to keep her company - daddy had put her down for her nap - but now it was silent, and little Petunia hoped her daddy would come get her soon.

Something soft hit the back of her head and she turned to find the teddy she gave Lily at her feet, one of its eyes now missing. She had loved this teddy, he used to glow for her at night and she'd named him 'Mr Light'. Though he stopped shining long ago, she still loved him anyway and it hurt her to see him with only one silver eye.

Picking him up, she turned to inform her baby sister that she wasn't getting him back, but Lily was sleeping. Holding Mr Light to her, she returned to staring at the wall; daddy would fix him for her, he was really good at fixing things.

This time, when something hit the back of her head a little harder, she turned but Lily was still sleeping and no one else was with her. Looking down she saw Mr Light's other eye. She quickly picked it up and ran from the room screaming.

"Daddy!"

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 _ **Another Year Later**_

A recently washed cream coloured teddy - both eyes intact - was gently placed on a plush pillow with a pink case printed with sunflowers.

Four-year-old Petunia looked around her room, her green eyes shining in delight. Her daddy had helped her decorate her room, while her mummy decorated Lily's. She sighed in relief; finally, she had her own room. Maybe now she could sleep through the night.

She loves Lily, but the things her little sister does scares her. Mummy and daddy hadn't believed her until they saw it for themselves. Only, they saw Lily floating her toys, they didn't see the other things and still didn't believe her about those.

Ever since the invisible thing had thrown Mr Light at her, Petunia had been plagued by other strange happenings. _Ghostly_ happenings.

The cup of juice her mummy had poured fell over by itself, and her finger-paints smeared on the living room wall. Her clothes being scattered all over the bedroom, even if she hadn't been in there all day.

The worst had been a morning when she'd been getting ready for school. She'd just finished her bath and was in her room still wrapped in her towel, when her mummy had stormed in, gave her a severe tongue-lashing and spanked her. The bathtub had overflowed and soaked the carpet in the corridor.

Little Petunia kept telling her parents that there was a ghost in the house doing all the bad things, but no one believed her. Even her daddy had said once that 'his angel' was being a bad girl. She'd cried on his shoulder as he patted her back while she begged him to believe her.

 **Then one night, just after both mummy and daddy kissed her goodnight and went to bed, the toys in the room began to chirp, squeak and talk.**

 **She sat up wide-eyed, clutching Mr Light and moved to climb off her bed to protect Lily from the invisible threat.**

 **Petunia froze on her bed as she looked over at the crib; Lily was sitting up, wide awake and staring at her.**

 **"Lily… " the rest of the words stuck in her throat, her two-year-old sister didn't seem afraid; there was a frown on her little face as if she was mad or thinking hard.**

 **The Talking Barbie daddy had bought for her fourth birthday a few months ago, flew off the shelf and hit the wall near Petunia's head.**

 **"Lily!"**

 **Her baby sister blinked at her then pouted.**

 _ **'I hate you!'**_

 **Petunia's heart raced wildly, the words had been spoken by the doll which had landed next to her, but somehow, she knew the words came from Lily.**

 **Breathing heavily, her eyes locked with her sister's; it hadn't been a ghost causing trouble in the house ... but Lily.**

 **Petunia backed up on the bed, pulling the blanket to her neck; Mr Light, too, was tucked underneath it and against her chest.**

 **She screamed when all the toys on the shelf shot over to her, some of them hitting her before they spun over her huddled body as though caught in a tornado.**

 **By the time her parents rushed into the room, the toys were back on the shelf and Lily was crying because of her sister's scream that 'woke' her.**

It was the first time Lily had scared her, and it wasn't the worst she'd ever done to hurt Petunia using her magic either.

"Tuney honey, lunch is ready!"

Petunia allowed a growl to escape her lips, she hated that nickname.

"Coming, mummy!"

Lily couldn't pronounce her name yet and had taken to calling her 'Tuney'. Unfortunately, though she'd told her parents she'd preferred they use her full name, Henry and Heather objected on the grounds that they thought it was adorable.

She recalled the one time she'd had a tantrum about it and her parents ended up mad at each other.

 **"But mummy, I don't call her Yiyi anymore and you never called her that and I learned how to say her name right."**

 **"Honey, it's an adorable nickname."**

 **"I don't care! I like my name the way it is!"**

 **"Young lady, don't you use that tone with me!"**

 **"What's with all the raised voices?"**

 **"Daddy!" Petunia rushed over to her father, who just came home from work, "please don't call me Tuney, I hate that name. You'll keep calling me Petunia or sweetheart or angel won't you daddy?"**

 **Henry chuckled at what he thought was feigned desperation in those bright emerald orbs before they were hidden in the shirt collar at his neck when he lifted her into his arms.**

 **"Of course not! You'll always be my sweet angel, Petunia."**

 **"You spoil her too much, Henry. She overreacts, Tuney is a cute name and she only dislikes it because Lily gave it to her. Why does she always have to fight her little sister?"**

 **"Come on Heather, I don't believe it's about fighting Lily. Our little Petunia is more like us than we'd realised. Besides your smile, she has your willpower and besides my hair, and also like myself, she prefers her true name. Don't you remember when we were still dating and you kept calling me Harry? You stopped when you realised I hated being called that, didn't you? If our baby girl doesn't like that name we shouldn't force it on her, darling."**

 **"What we shouldn't be doing, _Henry_ , is filling _your_ daughter's head with the notion that she can get whatever she wants because she wants it. Our baby is special and she needs to be handled with care; we don't want Lily doing strange things in public, and that's what's going to happen if _this one_ keeps fighting her at every opportunity. If she wants to call her Tuney it's not a big deal, Lily is two years old, she'll either grow out of it or she won't."**

 **"They're both special girls, Heather," Henry said calmly, "and _'this one_ ' you're referring to is _our_ daughter, Petunia, which is all she wants us to call her, darling. Us… her parents… she said nothing about Lily, Heather, because she understands that Lily is too young to say her name right. We aren't."**

 **"Well," Heather said, moving to take Lily from the playpen, "obviously you know your daughter better than I do."**

 **Henry stared at his wife, wondering how a simple name discussion ended up here.**

 **"Obviously," he said, still confused, "our daughter's the only one I understand at the moment."**

Petunia didn't understand all of what was said, but seeing her parents mad at each other had frightened her. She loved her mummy and daddy and wanted to see them smiling at each other again. The next day she'd told them both that it was okay if they called her Tuney, as long as they stopped being mad at each other.

They'd smiled and hugged her between them like they used to and they never fought again.

Not that she would know; they never argued in front of her, nor within earshot after the last time.

Her daddy still called her Petunia and that was enough for her.

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

At the dining table, Petunia, with Heather's direction, helped set their places for lunch. Though it was a Saturday, Henry was at his office so it was just the two of them for lunch with Lily in her high chair.

Lunch was just a turkey sandwich with some chips on the side since they were all going out to dinner that evening. Petunia sat next to her mummy who was feeding Lily some mashed potatoes on the other side of her.

"When you're finished eating honey, I want you to do your homework and then take a nap so you'll be wide awake for later."

"Okay," Petunia said and took a sip of apple juice, "mummy, can I wear the peach dress?"

"The one that daddy says makes you look like his little princess?" her mummy asked with a playful eye roll and Petunia giggled.

"Yeah."

"Sure, why not? It is daddy's special day and his two girls should look extra special."

"Three, mummy."

Heather 'awwed' and pushed the bangs off of Petunia's forehead, kissing it gently.

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

Dinner at the restaurant for her daddy's birthday had been fun and with the added bonus of coming home to sleep in her own room, Petunia pulled Mr Light to her and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

 _The dream began as many of the others she'd had; there were the lush green shrubbery and tall trees bursting with berries and fruits she and Mr Light enjoyed._

 _She turned to find her friend sitting beside her and like always, here in her dream he glowed from deep within his plush body. He was also the same height that she was and spoke with a cultured polish that made her giggle most of the time._

 _They played tag - where one of them would disappear on the spot and reappear some distance away in whatever direction and the other had to follow and tag them before they could disappear again - and then they strolled toward the Apple Juice Fountains near the Red Currant Spring, while she confided to her dream friend about the fear she had of her baby sister._

 _Without warning, Petunia was ripped from her dream to another. It looked liked the room she used to share with Lily, who currently sat in her crib glaring at her from behind the bars._

 _Toys appeared from nowhere and began to bombard Petunia as she huddled in the furthest corner from her baby sister. Her skin began to itch and she didn't need to look to know that her sister had given her either another painful red rash or tiny pus-filled bumps._

 _"Lily, stop! Mummy, daddy… help me!"_

 _"Tuney, why do you always have to fight your sister? You will not take our love away from her again."_

 _Petunia glanced up from between her swollen fingers and mangled hair to see her parents standing in the doorway and she struggled to stand. Daddy looked as safe as ever with his soft, caring brown eyes and mummy was looking at her with hazel eyes filled with pity and disappointment - as they had been for a while, until daddy's birthday today._

 _"Your mummy's right, Tuney. You need to stop fighting your baby sister."_

 _"Daddy, you promised not to call me that; you promised that I was still your sweet angel. And I don't pick fights with Lily, she's the one who hurts me all the time daddy, see?" Petunia stumbled toward them, her arms outstretched to show her injuries but her parents seemed to float further away from her every step she took, and her eyes watered, "Don't you love me anymore daddy?"_

 _Mummy had stopped loving her too much since Lily came, but daddy had always loved her no matter what. Daddy couldn't leave her, she needs him._

 _"Lily's my sweet angel now, Tuney."_

 _"No! I can still be your sweet angel, daddy. Lily and I can share." Petunia's breath caught in her throat and something heavy pressed against her chest._

 _"Blaming your sister for your fights," mummy shook her head, her eyes full of disappointment, "it makes you look ugly and hateful, Tuney. Lily is special and she needs our love more than you do. Don't you think you've taken enough from her? We do."_

 _Her parents disappeared and without warning, a reddish haze tinged with black enveloped her._

A cry of pain left her lips as she woke from the dream, paralysed with the pain, she could only sob when her face and her entire body felt as if they were melting.

"Daddy!" Petunia waited for her daddy to come to her room to comfort her as he usually did but the rest of the house was quiet. Her daddy wasn't coming.

Her head felt heavy and it hurt inside of it. Her baby sister had done her magic thing again, and this time Lily had hurt her badly. Would mummy or daddy miss her if she died?

Of course not! She thought angrily, they had their precious, perfect Lily, didn't they?

No, that wasn't right, her parents loved her. The pain spiked and she sobbed pathetically. Hurt that her father hadn't come, she inched painfully over onto her side and hugged Mr Light to her chest.

As brown eyes squeezed shut with burning pain, in the bedroom across the corridor, green eyes opened and it's owner began to giggle sweetly.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _I hate them; all of them!_

That blouse-wearing freak who'd told Lily that she was a witch kept calling Petunia a muggle - the word sounded dirty the way he said it - and Lily had dropped a branch on her; and what did her parents do? They tell Petunia that _she_ had no business following them around.

 _They_ were the ones who forced her to take Lily to the park in the first place, and said to make sure her sister didn't do anything weird. How was she supposed to do that without following her around? And it's not like Lily listened to Petunia anyway.

The eleven-year-old threw aside her jacket and flung herself onto her bed, her dirty-blond hair, dull and stringy, splayed messily on the pillow. Petunia couldn't wait for Great-Uncle Qal to visit; he was the only one in the family that could see through the curse Lily had put on her and was still nice to her.

Petunia didn't know how he did it; maybe he was like Lily and Snape, although she'd never seen her uncle do anything freaky. Even if he was like them, Great-Uncle's concern and care when he visited, and his letters of encouragement from France meant everything to her.

Knowing that it would be a few days before Great-Uncle arrived, Petunia rolled off her bed and went to her small bookshelf for something to read.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the wardrobe mirror and paused. Angry brown eyes perused the long-necked, dirty-blonde and horse-faced girl there, before she wrenched her eyes away and sat on the comfy chair near her window. A book of Grimm's Fairy Tales lay on her lap as she gazed out the window unseeing.

Every day, for seven years, she'd look into the mirror with the hope that one day the curse would be broken. Lily said she'd never done anything to her, and that 'Tuney' had always looked that way. Lily, though, had been two years old when she did the bad magic to her. Petunia didn't think Lily would remember how her big sister used to look, but that was what she'd thought when she had believed her baby sister was innocent and had been too young to know what she was doing.

Their parents should have remembered, though, but even they said the same thing Lily had; that Petunia had always looked this way.

Petunia had begged Lily to remove the curse, to no avail. It was clear that her little sister was enjoying the blind, loving devotion from their parents. Lily was using what she stole from Petunia with no hint of guilt.

When Petunia had spoken with her Great-Uncle of this, he'd said that it seemed as though Lily had switched their personalities; not physically, it was more like a glamour over the both of them. However, Petunia was the one most affected, as the curse manipulated her emotions negatively. Everyone would see Lily as a sweet, caring, loving and beautiful angel, while Petunia was the exact opposite, a hag with a nasty attitude and full of hate.

Great-Uncle had named it a Hag Hex; Petunia thought it a fitting name. She couldn't seem to stop the hateful and mean words from coming out of her mouth; even if she didn't feel angry or spiteful, or wasn't thinking anything mean.

She regretted the spite and scorn she'd shown the Snape boy earlier. Rubbing at the sore spot on her shoulder - where the branch had hit the hardest - Petunia recalled the little scene she'd witnessed after stepping behind a tall hedge to brush away her tears of shame.

Lily had blamed Snape for the broken branch and pretended to be hurt and angry. The broken branch falling on her hadn't been an accident, though, and Petunia knew Lily had been the one to do it. Her little sister hated her; she always had.

Did magic turn people evil? Snape had magick just like Lily, but he had never cursed her, even when she was nasty to him.

Shaking her head Petunia turned her attention to her book, she would ask Great-Uncle when he came; for now, she would lose herself in the tale of Briar Rose.

~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~

"Uncle Qal!"

She stopped at the foot of the stairs, one hand clutching the post and the other at her side nervously tugging at the hem of her skirt. Petunia watched in agony and fear as Lily launched herself at the only person left in the world that still cared for her big sister, wrapping her little arms around his legs.

The hair rose on the back of her neck and Petunia knew that her sister was doing her magick on Great-Uncle Qal.

"Ah, Lily," he chuckled and crouched, his hands on her shoulders as he grinned at her smiling face, "you are more like me than you will ever know."

Petunia blinked back her tears; she knew this might happen someday, so everything was okay and she was fine. A tear escaped, though, when Great-Uncle Qal whispered something to Lily that she didn't catch. Petunia slowly turned to go back up the stairs when Lily wrenched away from him, and stormed off to the kitchen where their mum was preparing dinner.

Petunia paused on the step; it had been years since she'd seen Lily's true feelings. Once others were nearby to witness it, Lily made sure to ooze sincere love and affection for her big sister. Petunia couldn't understand why her sister bothered; everyone would love her anyway, Lily had made sure of that with the Hag Hex she'd put on her.

"Petunia." Her gaze returned to the entryway; Great-Uncle Qal - his silver-grey hair, neatly slicked back - was still on one knee smiling gently at her, his arms open wide. "Come here, _ma fille émeraude_."

Choking back her sobs, Petunia ran into those comforting arms, barely noticing her Uncle lift her out of the way when her father came in with the luggage.

~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~

Two hours later, the family were sitting around the dinner table with Lily prattling to her mother about her perfect grades; the men were discussing cricket scores and Petunia was relishing her dinner for the first time in weeks.

Every two or three days the curse would force Petunia to be mulish, ungrateful and sulky during dinner, making her push food around her plate; this, in turn, caused her parents to punish her by sending her to bed hungry.

The last two weeks had been the worst, ever since the tree branch incident. Clearly, the happier Lily was, the more dreadful Petunia appeared to others. As a result of her increased bad behaviour, Petunia had been without food almost every other day, for the entire day.

She hadn't confided this to her Great-Uncle as there wasn't much he would be able to do. Most of the time when she got letters from him, they would almost always be addressed from a different country.

Great-Uncle Qalmor, though, was not oblivious, and the moment Petunia finished with her slice of shepherd's pie, he placed another slice onto her plate. She looked up at him, but he ignored her and continued his discussion with her father.

Petunia noticed Lily looking over at them, but kept her eyes on the plate in front of her, a slight smile on her lips. She finally understood the best way to fight the curse; make Lily mad or jealous.

~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~

"Now that I think about it Uncle Qal, that's going to be harder to do than I thought."

Petunia sat on a park bench with her Great-Uncle's arm draped over her shoulder; Lily was sitting some distance away with Snape, under a tree.

"I think you're right, mon bijou; your little sister seems to know how to wrap others around her finger, but don't despair _ma belle_ , I told you already that there is a way to break this curse. Just hold on a little longer."

"But, I have to wait so long, Uncle. I don't know if I can. Everyone loves her, so Lily's always happy," she paused and looked at the pair reading a book under the tree, "and they all hate me."

"Your parents don't hate you, Petunia," he leant forward and grasped her hands lightly, preventing her from saying otherwise, "they don't! I believe your parents are in the grips of a spell just like you."

He cupped her face gently, "I helped raise your father, _mon bijou_ , and I've known your mother long enough. Petunia, I know that Henri and Heather would die to protect you if they had access to their minds."

Petunia blinked back tears, and gestured to the distant pair, whispering, "Are you like they are, uncle Qal?"

" _Non ma chérie_ ," he despaired as he watched the tiny flicker of hope fade from her eyes, "Petunia, if I could break the curse I would but I cannot."

"Then who's going to break it when I'm older, Uncle and why do I have to wait so long?"

"Because, _mon émeraude Fey_ ," he held her chin and their gazes locked, "you are not yet old enough to remove it yourself."

Petunia and her Great-Uncle sat quietly after that; there were a lot of questions plaguing her mind that she wanted to voice, but she knew from experience that he would avoid answering them.

In the distance, under the tree where her little sister and the Snape boy lay, the dried leaves blew up from the ground and began to swirl around in an unnatural pattern.

Petunia sighed as she thought of the weeks without food and all the extra back-breaking chores she'd had to do. According to their parents, 'Lily was special, and didn't need to be doing such menial tasks as she should have time to focus on her school work'. And now with the knowledge that there was a school for children like her sister, where Lily would learn more magick and get even better at cursing her, Petunia felt her stomach clench in fear.

Why did Snape have to tell Lily about that place? Not that him keeping it to himself would have helped anything; Petunia had heard him tell Lily that they'd get letters inviting them to the school.

She sat up straighter and looked at her uncle excitedly, "They have a school, Uncle."

" _Oui ma chérie,_ so you have said before."

"They get acceptance letters from the school; maybe I could write to them to get help. Surely one of their teachers can break the curse."

Great- Uncle nodded hesitantly, "It would be a worthy try, but I must caution you, Petunia, those wizards are a myopic bunch; you would do well to expect little to no help from them."

Petunia nodded, but he could see that the flare of hope had returned to her eyes and he left the bench to kneel before her, his eyes pleading.

"Petunia, _ma chérie_ , I need you to listen to me now; I want you to remember this," Great-Uncle Qal waited for his niece's nod and for her focus to return to him; his weathered features radiating concern, "I promise that you will learn all that is necessary when the time arrives, and I will be your teacher. For now, though, I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, you will never give up hope, Petunia."

The hope was still there in her eyes, but this time it was the knowledge that she wasn't alone and that if all else failed, her Uncle Qal would be there to help her.

"I promise, Uncle Qal."

"There is one thing I will admit, _ma chérie;_ it is something I once told _une petite fille insoutenable_ when she tried to cast a spell on me as soon as I walked through the door."

Petunia listened attentively; she would finally know what her Uncle had told Lily the day he'd arrived.

"No matter how much she learns at that school, no matter how much she belittles you; Lily will never be as powerful as you are, Petunia."

~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~

 ** _Diagon Alley_**

The Evans' and the Sinistra family trailed behind the young wizard that had introduced himself as a Hogwarts seventh year Prefect named Balore. The sixth and seventh-year Prefects had been assigned the task of escorting the muggle-born students and their immediate family around Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies.

With the families in groups of one or two and shopping schedules spread out over days, the muggle-borns were given more than enough individual attention for all questions to be answered.

They stood in the lobby of the bank and listened as Balore explained their currency. Petunia fingered her bum-bag wondering if she should change some of the money she'd earned doing minor household chores for their next-door neighbours.

She'd saved quite a large sum over the years in the hopes of taking a typing course after she left school; but as Balore had said earlier, they were allowed to make personal purchases as long as the items didn't exhibit any hint of magic. Besides, Great-Uncle had told her to ' _know her enemy_ ', which Petunia believed meant that she had to learn about Lily's magic and how her little sister can use it to hurt her.

Petunia turned to her parents, intending to ask them to change some money for her and found that they'd taken Lily over to a teller already; she pushed down the bit of hurt that popped into her heart and went over to a free teller.

Petunia was used to the neglectful behaviours of her parents, thanks to Lily; as far back as she could remember, their parents were no longer present or aware in the bodies of Henry and Heather.

"Hi... um, Sir. Can... may I have this changed to whatever is... um, appropriate? Please."

The goblin took the wad of cash she pushed over to him, "Very well," was all he said as he placed the notes on a wide shallow platter on his left, but his gaze was on the empty platter on his right and Petunia looked at it, pretty sure she knew what was about to happen.

A neat pile of wizard money appeared and yet still her eyes widened; it was way more than she'd been expecting. The goblin was speaking again and she focused on him.

"Ninety-nine Galleons, nine Sickles, twelve Knuts," he began, pointing at each in turn, "there are seventeen Sickles in a Galleon, twenty-nine Knuts in a Sickle, and finally, four hundred and ninety-three Knuts to a Galleon."

Petunia nodded as she eyed the pile nervously; how was she going to carry it around? Coins weighed a lot in piles like that. The goblin placed a small and empty black velvet drawstring bag in front of her.

"Place your hand inside the bag."

He spoke in a no-nonsense tone of voice, his dark eyes hard; not much different from the beginning of the transaction but Petunia did as she was told anyway and waited.

The surface of the bag shimmered with iridescent beams of light for a few seconds before it dimmed to its original state. Petunia was startled when the bag was abruptly pulled from her hand and she bit her lip; she didn't want the curse to cause her to disrespect the goblins around her, they didn't seem to be the kind of beings that would take kindly to that.

The goblin poured the coins into the bag and held it out to her. Petunia took it expectantly and frowned; she loosened the string and looked inside. All the coins seemed to be in there, she could feel them and see them... but the bag wasn't heavy at all, and she smiled. She looked at the goblin who was smirking lightly at her.

"A Weightless Charm," he said, "and there's a No-Spill spell in the case of the bag dropping from you, this also means you can't throw out money from it, as foolish children are wont to do. There is, as well, an Anti-Theft spell that prevents anyone but you from putting their hands in there. Just think of the amount of money you need with your hand in the bag and that will be the amount you take out no matter how much you grasp. Will that be all?"

"Yes, Sir and thank you."

The goblin nodded away her gratitude and Petunia went to stand next to the Sinistras to wait for her parents and Lily who had yet to finish their own transactions.

She was putting away the money into her bum-bag, when a shy voice spoke near her.

"Hi, I'm Aurora. Are you in Hogwarts too?"

Petunia took in the appearance of the pathetic creature speaking to her... and flinched at the crude thought. Aurora sported coke-bottle glasses, small but moistureless dreadlocks and she was extremely thin to the point of looking sickly. She looked way too young to be eleven and Petunia felt pity stirring, the outcome of Aurora's school life was predictable.

"Hi, Aurora, I'm Petunia and no, I don't have magic, only my sister Lily does."

"Oh... um," Aurora glanced over at Lily, who was standing between the Evans; they'd all gathered with the Sinistras around Balore, she looked up at Petunia "is she nice?"

Petunia heard the hope of a new friendship in the girl's tone and couldn't tell her the truth but she also couldn't lie, "Don't worry," she began with a forced smile, "the more you're around Lily, the more you have no choice but to love her."

Petunia left it at that and quickly caught up to her parents who followed Balore as the Sinistras gathered their niece between them. Petunia never caught the intelligent and calculating look Aurora cast between the sisters, nor the fact that the feeble-looking girl kept her distance from Lily for the rest of their time at Diagon Alley.

They were in the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts and Petunia searched the shelves for any helpful magical texts; Great-Uncle Qal had urged her to learn as much about the magic cast on her as she could. Unfortunately, there were so many choices, she didn't know where to start.

"Uncle, these books are too expensive. Let's go to the second-hand bookshop instead."

Petunia peeked around the edge of the shelves to find the Sinistras standing some distance away, and smiling at their niece's frugality.

"Pathetic."

The eloquent intonation to her right made her look away from the family now speaking in hushed tones, to the... she inhaled...held it for three seconds, and exhaled... the gorgeous hunk thumbing through the pages of a book from the next shelf.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's impolite to stare."

Her cheeks burned and Petunia clamped her jaw shut, she hadn't even seen the group standing around behind him; the blond girl that had spoken glared coldly at her while the others jeered.

"Give the muggle slag some credit, Cissy," an older raven-haired girl said with a chilling smile, "it's obvious that she intends one day to be as pretty as your dear betrothed."

Petunia's cheeks flamed when she saw that the books she'd been looking at were titled along the lines of 'Beauty Glamours and Potions for The Plain Witch and Wizard' and 'The Hag's Guide To Wart Free Skin'.

'Adonis' snorted delicately, "Don't give the poor thing such false hope, Bella."

Petunia turned and fled Flourish and Blotts, deciding to stand outside and wait for her parents to finish. She glanced through the window at the length of the checkout line and sighed, knowing it would be a long wait. She should have gone with the Sinistras when she had the chance.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Petunia?"

Still pink-cheeked and fingering her stringy hair in front of her face, Petunia turned to find their next-door neighbour, Mrs Diya, smiling down at her.

"Mrs Diya, you're… here? I mean…"

Priya chuckled and touched her shoulder gently.

"It's alright, yes, Darius grew up in this world, I married into it, Sham inherited his father's gifts, and one day our little Xhara will walk the halls of Hogwarts, or one of the other schools. So, I guess Lily got a letter, is she excited?"

Petunia smiled and nodded, genuinely happy that she knew magickal people other than Lily and secretly hoped to one day learn more from the Diyas.

"Lily's very excited Mrs Diya. Mum and Dad are in there getting books for her," she said, gesturing to the store behind her, "there are other magic schools?"

Priya nodded, "All over the world, Xhara prefers Hogwarts, for a terrible reason I'm afraid. I hope she considers the other potential schools before she makes her decision, but our little girl has a crush and refuses to see reason. All I can do is hope she grows out of it."

Petunia listened absently as just then, the group that had been making fun of her, came out of the store; thankfully, none of them saw her as Mrs Diya's form blocked any view of her. Her eyes followed 'Adonis' for a bit and she quickly looked away; she was not about to be embarrassed in public.

Priya had seen Petunia's interest but all she said was, "I'm going to say hi to your parents. You'll be fine out here by yourself?"

"I'll be okay, Mrs Diya, but could you show me where the second-hand book shop is."

"Oh, it's just over there." Priya pointed to a store with books lined on a small table. It was closer than she'd thought and when Priya disappeared into Flourish and Blotts Petunia hurried across the cobblestone street.

The interior of the shop was actually quite cozy and it reminded Petunia of the time they all visited Great-Uncle; she had spent most of the time in his library with him or by herself, when he was entertaining her parents. The scent of old books pervaded the room and Petunia felt herself relax since entering Diagon Alley.

Book shelves lined the walls and some stood back to back creating small aisles, the cashier's counter was closer to the centre of the room. Realising that she was wasting time, her parents weren't going to remain in the other store for long, she quickly searched the bookshelves. By the third shelf, her excitement had faded; the books were Spelled in some way, it was the only explanation for why she kept seeing Mathematics, General Sciences and others like Alice In Wonderland and Grimm's Fairytales.

Then she remembered, Balore had also said that she and her parents needed to be in his vicinity to be able to _see_ the books. Giving up at the last shelf near one wall of books, she pivoted slowly as she looked at the books sadly. Her parents wouldn't return here for her and she didn't want to ask their guide, he had other families to think of.

With a sigh, she turned to leave when something caught her eyes, a word… magick. Petunia spun to face the wall where she'd seen it and hurried over to a shelf just above her eye level. Excitement returned as she found five books that seemed magickal to her, and they were all written by the same person; Lefan The Squib

 _ **The Magick Within - A Brief Insight Of A 'Squib'**_

 _ **Inscribe & Cast Your Own Spells**_

 _ **A Chronicle Of Potions - Vanquishing, Healing and Others**_

 _ **Magickal Beings - Dangerous and Benign**_

 _ **Good Versus Evil - The Unending Saga**_

Since these were the only books Petunia grabbed them all, she heard a shuffling sound and looked up to see that the exact same books appeared in the space that had been left. Unfazed by the bit of magic, she went to the counter to pay for the books.

The man behind the counter looked at the books then back up at her with a kind smile, "I guess as a muggle-born you'd never have read these before," He lifted Good Versus Evil and pointed at it, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard is an all time favourite."

Petunia frowned, and she felt her hopes drop; had she been tricked? The man went back to cash everything and she peered at the book, it still looked the same to her.

"Three galleons, little miss," he said, packing the books into a bag for her, the last book Magickal Beings he brandished before he placed it in the bag, "Enchanted Encounters, another good one, it's a series you know. I have the others when you're ready, if you end up liking this one."

Petunia paid the galleon and took the bag with a smile, though, she was still confused.

The wizard couldn't see what she was seeing; the other books, the maths and others, were Spelled books to keep people like her from seeing a _magical_ book. Yet, this _wizard_ was seeing wizarding story books, while she saw magickal texts. Chills covered her body as realisation hit, and Petunia's smile widened as she left the store; she held the bag of books to her chest, and thought, a wizard couldn't see what she saw… and _that_ … that was magickal.

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

Petunia trailed behind her parents as they fussed over Lily, who was making ridiculous cooing sounds at her new owl. Lily hadn't wanted any other animal and so everyone had stopped off at Eeylops Owl Emporium. Now they were heading to the Magical Menagerie as the Sinistras insisted on getting their niece a pet; Petunia was beginning to sense that Aurora was either extremely frugal or she was uncomfortable spending her aunt and uncle's money.

Balore stopped in front of the pet store, "While the Sinistras are selecting their pet, as that can sometimes take a while, how about I take you all to Slug and Jiggers and the Sinistras can meet us there, sounds good?" Everyone agreed, and when Aurora and her guardians went in to the store, Petunia followed behind them.

"Mum, dad, I'm going to see the pets with the Sinistras," she said, going quickly to the door.

"Y-yes, okay honey."

Petunia realised long ago that once she didn't actually ask, her parents would allow certain things. Besides, doing it this way while everyone was in a hurry, Lily had no chance to tag along to see what Petunia was up to; not that she was up to anything, she just wanted to look around without Lily's smirking and questioning about the books she was obviously carrying.

In the noisy store - children were gushing loudly over the equally excited animals - Petunia relaxed again. She smiled and began to look around at the animals.

"Petunia, come see this." Aurora had taken to Petunia and chatted about anything exciting that caught her eyes. Petunia didn't mind, she liked the intelligent girl and even better it seemed as though Lily wasn't too happy with this, so Petunia was able to be genuinely happy without having to force the emotion. A part of her wondered how wonderful it would have been if Lily wasn't so terrible, was just a normal little sister… the two of them could be having as much fun as she was having with Aurora.

At a small barrier, to prevent them from wandering away, Aurora and Petunia cooed at a kindle of kittens pattering about the enclosure. The mother - a strange looking cat with long ears and what seemed to be a lion's tail - sat looking around at her growing babies with two sitting next to her, and when the girls had approached she'd transferred her stare to them.

"They're called kneazles and are just like cats except that they're magickal and really, _really_ intelligent; they can understand you when you talk, but they can communicate if they bond with you."

Petunia nodded as she listened to Aurora, she would have loved to have a cat of her own but she didn't want Lily hurting any animals she brought home. _That poor owl_ …

Mama cat touched noses with the two kittens next to her and brused against them, before she sat again, and returned her attention to her other kittens. Petunia watched in awe as the two kittens approached the barrier directly in front of her and Aurora.

The grey bundle with blue eyes stood and leaned on the barrier in front of Aurora, while the black bundle with the brightest green eyes, did the same in front of Petunia. The girls glanced at each other before they smiled and lifted the respective kittens.

Aurora gasped and Petunia turned to see the kitten snuggling in the girl's arms turn into a British Shorthair.

"Ooohh, you're so pretty. Aunty, Uncle… I found one!"

The Sinistras gasped and rushed over from the tiny-monkey habitat, "Oh god! Honey, you're… you're okay!" Her aunt sounded relieved and Petunia wondered why. "Honey, why don't you pick out something else."

"But… she chose me, Aunty and I feel fine."

"Denise, I told you; Aurora belongs here and besides, that's a kneazle. It's impossible for her allergies to act up, and it would be cruel to turn a familiar away." Mr Sinistra knelt in front of his niece. "If she chose you, it means that she's already started to bond with you, no matter how short a time has passed. She won't want to be with anyone else, and if you leave her..."

Petunia stroked the kitten in her arms as she tried not to seem intrusive to the Sinistras' conversation. She hoped they let Aurora keep the kitten, it was the only thing Petunia had heard the tiny girl ask for. Her little black bundle of fur was now sleeping and she moved to place it back in the enclosure.

"Miss Evans," Petunia paused and looked up at the kind, dark features of Mr Sinistra, "I know you're… not like your sister, but what I said goes for you as well; this kitten chose you, are you really going to leave it behind?"

She didn't reply, instead, Petunia looked down at the kitten now awake and staring at her with it's tiny green eyes. She didn't want to leave the kitten, but she also didn't want to take it home where Lily might decide to hurt it. The little furry head cocked to the side as the kneazle stared at her, and she remembered that Aurora had said they were intelligent. Maybe if she warned the kitten enough times he'll learn to stay away from her sister and - just in case - her parents as well.

She grinned and hugged her kitten to her, "Thank you, Mr Sinistra. I'll keep him safe."

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

It was the morning of September first. The Evans' family had just crossed the barrier from King's Cross to Platform 9 3/4 and Petunia's gaze perused the crowded platform. There were students with giant toads or strange looking cats in their arms, there were owls in cages hooting at each other, and some of the students were strolling around already dressed in their long black robes.

She felt her heart skip a beat as she thought of Voltaire who was currently being taken care of by the Diyas after Lily had complained to their parents about rashes appearing on her skin.

Suddenly, Lily took her hand and pulled her a little away from their parents, who were gazing around the platform in awe.

"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen —" Lily caught her hand and held tight to it, even though Petunia tried to pull it away.

"Sorry... you're sorry!" Petunia stared in disbelief at her little sister and caught a familiar gleam in her eye. "What are you playing at, Lily?"

"Maybe once I'm there — no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"Change his mind about what?" She pulled her arm from Lily's grip and absently rubbed at the spot - Lily's touch had always felt dirty... tainted - as she spoke softly. "You know what Lily, I'm glad you'll finally be gone to that school; you're a sick and evil little freak."

"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you."

Petunia felt shame and confusion course through her; Lily had spoken loud enough for others around them to glance in their direction.

"Beg? I didn't beg! What-" she stopped short as she realised that Lily was doing what she did best; manipulating those around her and humiliating her big sister as much as possible.

"I saw his reply. It was very kind."

Then Petunia remembered that she'd written to the Headmaster asking for his help to break the curse. When Lily had gotten her acceptance letter with a notice that someone magical would be coming to their home to explain more, Petunia had quickly written the letter addressing it to the name of the Headmaster their father had read out loud.

 **When the stern-faced witch, with black hair pulled into a bun, had come a day later, Petunia had raced outside before the professor left and asked her to deliver it.**

 **The professor looked at the dirty-blond girl with a frown, "Only magickal children are allowed at Hogwarts, Miss Evans."**

 **"I know, professor," Petunia replied, trying to hold back the curse long enough for the witch to take the letter, she could already feel the anger boiling to the surface, "I'm just asking for some help, ma'am."**

 **"Very well."**

The very next day, Petunia had gotten her reply. It had been brusque, condescending and ended with well-wishes for her future endeavours. Dumbledore's letter contained utter poppycock about Lily doing 'accidental' magic, that Petunia's jealousy would hurt her sister; that Lily surely loved her and that muggles were not allowed at Hogwarts. Great-Uncle Qal had been right, she thought, wizards _are_ a myopic - she'd looked it up in the dictionary - bunch.

Now, here was Lily, playing on the sympathies of the crowd and making her look like the jealous sister Dumbledore had called her.

Petunia felt the anger swell and noticed Lily's glance toward Snape standing nearby with his sour-faced mother. The brats had both been poking around in her room, she guessed, as Snape would have been able to recognise the marker on the otherwise normal-looking envelope.

Lily was looking at her in mock sadness and sympathy, and for once Petunia wanted to give in to the hate and rage coursing through her. She wanted all these magical folk to know that they were allowing an evil freak schooling along with their children.

 _ **"Promise me you'll never give in, ma cherie, no matter how much she belittles you, Lily will never be as powerful as you are, Petunia."**_

Her Great-Uncle's words resonated within her and she clasped the small charm around her neck. It was because of the charm that Uncle Qal had given her during his visit two years ago, that any new curses Lily tried on her failed every time.

She didn't know where he'd gotten it, but Petunia was ever so grateful for the protection the charm provided.

Then it dawned on her, Lily was going away for months, she won't have to endure unfair punishments… she could bring Voltaire home. Her anger fading, she focused on Lily in front of her and did something she hadn't done since Lily was a baby; she pulled her into a hug.

"I'll miss you so much, Lily," she said, thinking of the happiest times she'd had with her parents before Lily's curse, "you're lucky to be going to Hogwarts and I'm _so_ happy for you. That's all that matters."

Petunia held her sister at arm's length, and her smile widened at Lily's struggle to keep annoyance and anger from showing on her face; she pulled Lily close once more to whisper in her ear.

"Beat that, freak."

Petunia stepped away, and their parents engulfed Lily in a hug, gushing about how proud they were of her and urging her to write home often.

"Good luck to you too, Severus," Henry said to Snape - his mother had apparently already left after loading his trunk onto the train - waiting nearby for Lily.

Petunia looked away, staring blankly at the other bystanders; she'd glimpsed the poorly hidden longing in Snape's dark eyes, for the blatant - excessive - affection the Evans' showered on Lily. Petunia guessed that there wasn't much love in the Snape home as she'd seen the bruises sometimes when he came over to their house.

Though Petunia felt a stirring of sympathy for him, Snape didn't respect those who didn't have magic; he hated Petunia, and he didn't trust her parents, no matter how nice they were to him. Not that her parents overt 'niceness' was real; it was all Lily.

A familiar voice sounded close by, and Petunia blinked; her gaze cleared in time to notice the blonde hunk from Diagon Alley, 'Adonis', getting on the train with a group of boys, she quickly looked away to prevent any more name calling or insults.

Just then, Lily and Snape also boarded the train, and soon enough the doors were shut, and the train was slowly moving off.

Petunia slouched and shuffled impatiently as she just wanted to go home and relax with her kneazle; it was a Saturday morning, and her favourite show would be on soon. Henry and Heather, though, were still waving at the departing train like all the other families.

The crowd began to disperse as people began to leave, and Petunia stared in fascination at the magickals' vanishing exit, keeping out of the way of the those that needed to go back through the barrier.

Petunia found the whole idea of the barrier ridiculous and the fact that non-magicals on the other side never saw people walking through a wall was unbelievable. She wondered how many of them thought they were going insane or disappeared without a trace because they saw something they shouldn't have.

Her parents weren't waving at the train anymore, but they were slowly walking in the direction the train had gone. Petunia huffed and folded her arms as it was becoming embarrassing; there were still some families mingling who were throwing the couple weird looks. The Diyas, holding their little girl between them, were one of those families.

With a frustrated sigh, Petunia went to collect her parents.

"Dad... mum, it's time to go."

The pair didn't turn or acknowledge her and their zombie-like, shuffling gait - now noticeable as she got closer - worried her. Petunia hurried around to block their path and froze; she didn't know whether to be horrified or disgusted at the slack-faced, drooling couple.

"Dad! Mum! Help, someone help them, please!"

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 _St Mungo's Hospital_

"They're going to need long term medical care…"

"The poor dear… it was obviously accidental magic…"

"At least she's in good hands at Hogwarts…"

Petunia sat quietly as she listened to the magic doctors as they spoke in hushed tones near her. It was clear that she was invisible to them as they spoke of her parents, sedated in a curtained off area of the large room, and Lily who was sitting nearer to the closed curtains leaning against the McGonagall woman who'd been to their home. The woman had brought Lily only a few minutes ago and already she was a ' _poor wee thing'_.

Petunia had chosen to sit near the exit, the furthest from her sister, as she waited for Great-Uncle to arrive. She gripped the seat near her legs and threw her _perfect_ , little sister a dirty look.

 _I HATE you, Lily! You'll pay for what you did to my parents you FREAK!_

Gentle hands came to rest on her own still gripping the seat, and Petunia looked away from Lily, but she refused to look up at Mrs Diya sitting quietly next to her. The couple had come with Petunia to St Mungo's, but Mr Diya had decided to take Xhara home while his wife remained, refusing to leave Petunia alone.

A part of her wished the woman had left with her husband, but Petunia was grateful for Mrs Diya's quiet company. Unlike their other neighbours, the Diya's were nice to her and paid her well for doing small chores and sometimes babysitting Xhara. She didn't want the curse to take over and make her behave horridly to the kind woman.

Someone hurried into the room and Petunia looked up, "Uncle Qal!" she raced to her Great-Uncle and hugged him tightly, pressing her face to his chest.

" _Mon bijou,_ I came as quickly as I could. Thank you for contacting me, Priya."

"You're welcome, Mr Qalmor. If you'll excuse me, I'm going home to make sure Darius didn't burn down the house trying to cook dinner."

"Thank you for staying with me Mrs Diya," Petunia said softly, still holding onto her Great-Uncle.

"It was my pleasure, dear," with a sad smile to Petunia and a nod to Qalmor, Priya left.

" _Ma chérie,_ please wait here," he said, walking her back to her seat, "let me find out what I can from these people."

Petunia watched as Uncle Qal approached the witch doctor that had emerged from behind the curtains and began speaking to Lily's teacher.

"Healer Thompson, I'd greatly appreciate it if you would direct your observations about my nephew and niece-in-law to me." He turned to the teacher without waiting for the healers reply. "Professor McGonagall, please escort my niece back to school; I will be corresponding with your Headmaster as to the state of my nephew and his wife when I have removed them to a secure facility." This was all said in one breath and Petunia bit back a smirk at the teacher's perplexed expression.

"But… they are her parents, sir, she should-"

"I will clear it with your Headmaster as to when arrangement for visits can be made." He said abruptly and gestured to the exit. "Now, please excuse me, Professor McGonagall, I must see to _ma famille_."

As they swept passed, Lily shot a glare at Petunia, hate brimming from her eyes.

Petunia smiled brightly, "Enjoy Hogwarts, Lily."

Not even the teacher's sniff of disbelief at Petunia's words, could dull the flare of happiness she felt, especially when she met Uncle Qal's eyes full of pride.

 **~~~(*)~~~(*)~~~**

 **A/N - I just wanted to let my followers know that this and other stories (Awaken, Emrys! & Must Have Been Love) will be put on hold for the foreseeable future.**


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